Realization dawned on me when I tracked the source of various life lessons to the many video games I played as a child, even though a lot of them were also responsible for letting my imagination go into overdrive. I doubt whether kids of today's generation would even come close to cherishing the few-but-spectacular video games the way the kids in the 2000s did, let alone underscoring their learnings. One of the major reasons why our bond remains special was the lack of easy access and frequent hanging up of the computer screen, back then. Isn't it?
Here's my vaguely arranged list of all the killer video games that rocked the 2000s....
1) NFS (Need For Speed) - My earliest memories of playing video games remain those of aimlessly pressing all the buttons on the keyboard, hoping that my car's speed would accelerate to 200 kmph so that I could win the race. Sadly, I did not know that those fancy cars and the speed they were driven at are the stuff dreams are made of.
2) Super Mario - This is the one game I could always play without having to worry about what my parents would think. Because seriously, what would anybody's parents find offensive about a man who rightfully collects money on a rescue journey that sees many a hurdle and perpetrator. On the contrary, Super Mario teaches us that if you aim high enough, then even you can collect some coins along the way.
3) Prince - My real fighting prowess came to the fore every time Prince picked up a sword to fight the devil. For me, MCP will always stand for Male Chauvinist Prince. He resembled the ultimate dream man, albiet on the computer screen.
4) Disney's Alladin - I was totally smitten by Genie and had bought into the notion that Genie actually existed in real life and that it had magical powers. So much so that I bought a water bottle just for the cut out of Genie pasted on it. Alladin's nemesis haunted me for the longest time in my dreams. A part of me always wanted to grow up to be Alladin's princess. This game literally personifies the term ''smiling away to glory.''
5) GTA Vice City - If someone ever asked me what was addiction, then this game would me my savior. Aspirin found a totally new place in my dictionary after GTA Vice City came into being. Killing and running over people never seemed more fun. Thanks to this game, my experience of mass murdering has seen me do away with various miscreants in my life, even if it is just in my imagination. Unfortunately for my parents, by the time they started to reprimand me for my obsession, I was already an expert in the game.
6) Doom - This game should conveniently be renamed 'Don't play this game if you suffer from Misophonia.' How was one supposed to play this game with no one around! Opening the doors of a prison cell with a 180-degree view only added to the horror. Sometimes, a game like this balanced the overtly bright and colorful setups in most other games.
7) Stuart Little - A little cuteness and notoriety was something we all needed after fighting terror and Armadeggon in some other games. As someone who played for Stuart, looking at humans all around did seem a tad bit agonizing when miniatures did not find a voice in the happenings around.
Today, when I come across games like The Angry Birds and The Temple Run among the others, all I think is that the options may have increased a hundred fold, but I doubt if the levels of ecstacy and the fervour of kids, today, can ever match the excitement and thunder that kids experienced a decade ago. Meanwhile, Nintendo is launching an updated version of Super Mario through its app. Let's see if it is able to arouse the child in me!
Here's my vaguely arranged list of all the killer video games that rocked the 2000s....
1) NFS (Need For Speed) - My earliest memories of playing video games remain those of aimlessly pressing all the buttons on the keyboard, hoping that my car's speed would accelerate to 200 kmph so that I could win the race. Sadly, I did not know that those fancy cars and the speed they were driven at are the stuff dreams are made of.
2) Super Mario - This is the one game I could always play without having to worry about what my parents would think. Because seriously, what would anybody's parents find offensive about a man who rightfully collects money on a rescue journey that sees many a hurdle and perpetrator. On the contrary, Super Mario teaches us that if you aim high enough, then even you can collect some coins along the way.
3) Prince - My real fighting prowess came to the fore every time Prince picked up a sword to fight the devil. For me, MCP will always stand for Male Chauvinist Prince. He resembled the ultimate dream man, albiet on the computer screen.
4) Disney's Alladin - I was totally smitten by Genie and had bought into the notion that Genie actually existed in real life and that it had magical powers. So much so that I bought a water bottle just for the cut out of Genie pasted on it. Alladin's nemesis haunted me for the longest time in my dreams. A part of me always wanted to grow up to be Alladin's princess. This game literally personifies the term ''smiling away to glory.''
5) GTA Vice City - If someone ever asked me what was addiction, then this game would me my savior. Aspirin found a totally new place in my dictionary after GTA Vice City came into being. Killing and running over people never seemed more fun. Thanks to this game, my experience of mass murdering has seen me do away with various miscreants in my life, even if it is just in my imagination. Unfortunately for my parents, by the time they started to reprimand me for my obsession, I was already an expert in the game.
6) Doom - This game should conveniently be renamed 'Don't play this game if you suffer from Misophonia.' How was one supposed to play this game with no one around! Opening the doors of a prison cell with a 180-degree view only added to the horror. Sometimes, a game like this balanced the overtly bright and colorful setups in most other games.
7) Stuart Little - A little cuteness and notoriety was something we all needed after fighting terror and Armadeggon in some other games. As someone who played for Stuart, looking at humans all around did seem a tad bit agonizing when miniatures did not find a voice in the happenings around.
Today, when I come across games like The Angry Birds and The Temple Run among the others, all I think is that the options may have increased a hundred fold, but I doubt if the levels of ecstacy and the fervour of kids, today, can ever match the excitement and thunder that kids experienced a decade ago. Meanwhile, Nintendo is launching an updated version of Super Mario through its app. Let's see if it is able to arouse the child in me!
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